***In honor of writing and sharing, I have chosen to center this entire post around the translation of a message and am hosting my very first giveaway (details below!)***
A few weeks ago, when Hannah and my mother were spending a lot of quality time together, Hannah spat out a sentence undistingusihable to my mother but very clear to Miss Thing and her attitude. My mother gave her a look that cried out, "HUH?", to which Hannah again responded with the same verbage she had previously used, and still, that one word was eluding my sweet mother. "Yook, Nan I see da vewwy cute buuuuuud." Bud, bead, bug, bulb, bird, bag...any of them could have been the one and quite honestly my mother wasn't seeing any of those items. Hannah's frustration mounted and my mother sheepishly requested her to somehow try again. So, Hannah in the infinite wisdom of a two year old took my mother's face in her hands and very, very sternly said, "TWEET, TWEET, TWEET." Ahhh, bird.
I have to admit, this is very indicative of Hannah's personality. When she cannot get us to understand, she finds an alternative route to get to the same place. But, it got me to thinking about communication in general. My own marriage, in fact, many days needs a communication tune-up...I think of the desperate need for Rob and I to not just share information, but to truly understand one another. We recently attended a video marriage conference entitled, "Love and Respect" hosted by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs and his wife Sarah.
I could write for hours on the principles that Dr. Eggerichs presents and the incredibly funny way he presents them. Yes, you do walk away feeling you can call him by his first name and I felt every ounce of passion he has for helping couples to literally love and respect one another. My only advice, if you can do this series, go to see them, have a book they have penned, do it. Live it. It has been life changing for us. My first bloggy giveaway will be
The book and cd set of Motivating Your Man to Love God's Way!! Just leave a comment and for every comment left, you will have a chance to win the 2 book and cd series. One of the ladybugs will choose a winner July 15
Our generation should be some of the best communicators, constantly plugged in and forever clicking away on blackberries and mini laptops. I must admit though, with all of this technology and immediate gratification, some things may be getting lost in the translation. Just maybe, I think, it may have been our parents' generation that had better information sharing methods. My parents have always had a pretty consistent manner of communicating with one another. There were many years my father travelled extensively for work and they had to have a system. However, it is important to note, when my father was very young and in the service, he worked on airplanes. Very NOISY airplanes. So, he is virtually deaf in one ear. Now, I am no expert, but I would venture a guess that the other ear is not so hot either :) This little tidbit has wreaked havoc on my dear old dad for years. Why does he not get a hearing aid, you ask? Well, we are still scratching our heads about that.
At any rate, many things have been lost in the translation with my dad, orders in restaurants, questions from his students, the grandchildren speaking to him. But, make no mistake, my father is a good willed and fine man. He has more integrity in his little toe than most men acquire in a lifetime. As far as his faith and his ability to share his love with us, that has certainly never slipped from our radar. But, the following encounter has rendered me hysterical numerous times over the years.
I was in college at the time. I still lived at home. My mother worked at a local department store and my father picked her up after her shift on the weekends. That Saturday night, my dad asked if I wanted to ride over with him. Sure. It was very late and my mother got into the car. She innocently asked him a simple question,
"Did you kill the wasps?" (A wasp's nest was overtaking a tree in our side yard) to which he replied,
"Yeah, yeah, I did a load of white." My mother chuckled and I all out lost it.
She clarified for him, "No, no the bugs, did you get the bugs?" Still, the ears were not with him,
"Rugs, why would I wash the rugs?" We laughed until we cried. I know it is one of those moments you had to have been there to understand, however almost twenty years later, we still have those moments.
Consequently, my dad had sprayed the wasp's nest in addition to the other tasks he performed that day. But, I always find it noteworthy it takes so little to misunderstand the intentions of those around us. Dr. Eggerichs pointed out in our marriage encounter that people are generally good-willed, most of those around us are good willed people. My father was certainly good-willed that day, however his ears failed him. So, how often is our translation of a conversation vastly different than how the other person interpreted it? It amazes me how one single glance can speak volumes, while a fifteen minute dissertation to my children on loving one another can result in two defiant mini-me's casting blame from themselves and to each other, just wanting to "win". After all, they are incredibly good willed people, right? Right.
It's all in the translation. As I deeper study the Bible, I am fascinated by the translations of the written word of God. It becomes abundantly clear that there is very little wiggle room in translating the hard and fast facts presented in the ultimate book of all books. Yet, we attend bible studies and many times we take away different things, perhaps it meets us where we are in that moment. There is one verse that speaks to me when I may be sunken in my human spirit. There are those moments I misunderstand, when my heart is hardened or angry. I try to find a place that will renew my good-willed-ness :)
"I am the Lord, and I do not change." Malachi 3:6
It is simple, no translation needed.
